They don't actually get more enlightened as they age. Indeed, they look back and wish they'd been more insistent about their cleverness when they were young.

As living proof, might I present retired general Colin Powell?

Here is a man you might think of as a voice of loyalty and reason. But on Thursday, he proved himself a man far, far ahead of his time.

He posted a selfie. No, not one taken with his iPhone last week at some white-tablecloth bash. This selfie was taken 60 years ago.

In this remarkable photograph, the young Powell looks just as dapper as he is today. Moreover, he offered a message to another famous person who recently tried to co-opt selfies as her own -- with two different phones: Ellen Degeneres.

He wrote: "Throwback Thursday - I was doing selfies 60 years before you Facebook folks. Eat your heart out Ellen! The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

This photo has already had such an impact that even such political luminaries as Mark Zuckerberg have clicked the Like button.

The selfie does, though, lead to one fanciful thought: A Powell-Zuckerberg ticket for the next election.